Page 213 of A Dance of Water

They drew near to the throne room. The double doors were wide open, golden light from dawn spilling down from the glass dome of the ceiling, interspersed with darkness from the blanket of clouds above.

This—the aftermath of the Solstice celebrations, the revelry of Serpentis.

Swaths of blue silk tangled in darkened corridors, glass bottles scattered on every surface. Enchanted embers floated through the air, dust caught in the occasional ray of early morning light. The candles of the chandelier above still burned, wax dripping down the sides as they reached their end. Blue, gold, blue. It was all blue and gold. And sin.

Coats thrown over the backs of chairs, butts of cigars littering the floor.

Even a few high-heeled shoes lay discarded. Luella imagined the female shifters taking them off to dance barefoot amid the fall of blue embers as the night had raged on.

Shards of slowly melting ice.

Glitter on the floor. Glitter on the walls.

Candlewax grown cold.

The air held a magical sort of stillness.

She had never felt so alone.

Somehow, her feet had stalled. Az broke the silence:

"Lu." His voice was thick. Did he feel it too? The way everything teetered on the precipice of change? "Let’s go."

"Sorry," she breathed. "I don’t know what I’m doing…"

Bastian’s thumb rubbed over the back of her hand. "Then follow our lead." His words were reminiscent of the evening prior—her pleasure lessons, where he instructed her to do as he did.

Her lips parted with a half-formed plea—let me stay, don’t make me do this.But the moment passed, swallowed by the hush of the waking palace.

An invisible noose constricted around her neck. As if making a trek to the gallows, Luella’s feet dragged as they left the remnants of revelry.

66

TRADITION OVER MERCY

AZ

Dawn threatened to pierce the stormy sky.

Az tightened his hand on Luella as he tugged her through the misty haze of early morning.

She was quiet, her white hair frizzing in the humid air of this wet winter.

They had already prepared the horses and packed their things for the journey.

Over Luella’s head, Bastian’s dim red eyes met his. Az felt an unnatural brush against his mind as the vampire spoke:What do you plan to do?

Az swallowed, unable to help himself, as he looked down at her.Whatever I have to do to make her feel safe.

The demon hadn’t given it much thought, but he realized what he must do for their journey ahead—walk alongside her.

Luella would be forced to endure their journey to the Temples on foot. No food. No water. And no sleep.

It was barbarous. But what could he expect, knowing it had come from the mind of Vale’s ancestors?

He heard Bastian’s sharp intake of breath at his plan.

Az looked toward him. The light was dim, the clouds were swiftly moving and hiding the weak sun, and the air crackled with the promise of a violent storm. The journey ahead loomed. Foreboding. Yet, in this moment, with Lu nestled between them, Az couldonly feel grateful that he was able to find solidarity with the vampire. Bastian, at least, had always wanted to protect her, but he had gone about it much differently than Az—patient, as he waited and watched.

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